Accepting one’s age and being graceful about it is one thing, but having to tolerate gray hair much earlier than expected is a whole other matter.
Graying, after all, is a tell-tale sign of aging, and if one feels that one isn’t quite ready for that, it is then, an issue to be dealt with, wouldn’t you say?
We understand that graying in itself is subjective as an issue, for not everyone minds it or will make a fuss about it. Some may also love and anticipate their gray strands, for as they say, aging is an opportunity denied to many! But what of those who feel that it’s so utterly unfair that they should have to put up with gray hair when they’d rather not? Well, before we lay out the tips and tricks you can try to hopefully reverse graying, let’s take a closer look at the root of the issue.
Generally, all healthy humans have millions of hair follicles that generate hair and they also produce color or pigment cells that contain melanin. As we age, we lose these pigment cells, and our hair turns white (colorless).
However, this isn’t the only way our hair grays or whitens. There are a few other factors that may be responsible for this, especially in the case of premature graying. Let’s find out what they are.
1. Lack Of Proper Nutrients
If you thought your daily diet can’t possibly cause you to gray prematurely, think again! Any deficiency in important nutrients in our daily diet can in fact cause our hair to age and give way to premature graying. The most important nutrients we need for healthy hair growth include vitamin B-6, B-12, biotin, vitamin D3, as well as vitamin E. A diet lacking in one or more of these can contribute to an early onset of graying. These nutritional deficiencies are capable of affecting the pigmentation in our hair, and there have been studies that suggest that with a proper daily diet rich in all the required nutrients as stated above, graying hair may be reversible in some people.
2. Nasty & Harmful Chemicals In Hair Care Products
Well, this is kind of a gray area here (pardon the pun!), for it’s just not that easy to look for a hair care product that contains no chemicals, with an affordable price tag to boot. However, the fact still remains that most chemical substances found in hair care products such as shampoo, conditioners, hair serums and also hair dyes as well as hair bleaches have been known to contribute to premature hair graying by decreasing the pigments in our hair, making them lose their colour before they have a chance to age out naturally. Here’s one trick that may help you out: When picking out a hair-care product, especially if you can’t afford to buy organic, take a closer look at the label. Choose products that have more ingredients that you recognise (such as aloe vera, olive oil, chamomile, rose extracts, almond milk, etc, and ensure that these ingredients are at the very top of the ingredients list (with the exception of water). Other ingredients should be in minimal amounts compared to these. It may sound like hard work, but soon, you’ll get more and more cautious about this and your hair will thank you for this effort!
3. Stress-Induced Graying
Yes, stress is capable of making you gray, much quicker than you think! There have been studies on this, where a connection was revealed between stress and a depletion of stem cells in the hair follicles of mice. While we can’t possibly escape stress completely in this modern-day way of life, it’s always a good idea to practice some stress management, such as yoga, deep breathing, going on a vacation, watching a comedy film/TV show, reading a good book, etc, etc, etc. Any way you look at it, stress is bad for you. Work on reducing it, and one of the side effects to enjoy is a delay in graying! So far, there’s nothing to lose, is there?
4. Smoke And Grow Gray?
Smoking isn’t just an unhealthy habit that causes lung cancer and even heart diseases. It may also be responsible for countless people around the globe getting gray before their time! When you smoke, your blood vessels constrict, and this reduces blood flow to hair follicles, affecting the amount of nutrients that reach them, and ultimately, contributes to premature graying.
Plus, cigarettes contain a whole lot of toxic ingredients added to them, and these can also damage hair follicles and cause them to gray, or worse, lead to hair loss! So, if you’re a smoker and happen to be graying prematurely, you know what to do!
Here’s A Bonus Trick To Try Today! 
Use rice water as a final rinse when shampooing your hair! Each time before you cook rice, give it (the rice) a few quick washes. Then, add water to the rice again and this time, gently ‘massage’ the rice to help release its precious hair-loving nutrients. Collect the liquid into a container and use it as a final rinse after your shampoo. Do this each time you shampoo and you’ll soon have a head full of lustrous, healthy, younger-looking hair!
